AR/RP-based tangible interactions for collaborative design evaluation of digital products

In this paper, we propose an approach to collaboration with AR/RP-based tangible interactions for the design evaluation of digital products. The proposed approach embeds augmented reality (AR) into the rapid prototype (RP) of a digital product and simulates its functional behavior encapsulated into the form of a finite state machine (FSM). With AR/RP-based tangible interactions, users can interact with virtual objects as easily as they do with physical objects. This can greatly improve design thinking and communication. We further suggest how to effectively collaborate with each other, in particular, between a product developer and an early adopter, which is a person who evaluates a new product on behalf of customers, in a dispersed environment. The developer’s concern is the design evaluation through the integration of embedded software, hardware, sensors, and functionality, whereas the early adopter’s concern is the design evaluation through tangibility, functionality, and aesthetics. A case study for a collaborative mobile phone design is given to show the effectiveness and novelty of the proposed approach. Furthermore, an experiment has been carried out on a usability test for a qualitative comparison between the proposed approach and the conventional approach.

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